European Union' Foreign Policy Chief, Javier Solana, told the Israeli
Foreign Minister, Tzipi Livni, on Thursday that Israel must evacuate
all illegal settlement outposts in the occupied West Bank and conduct
its part to advance the Road Map Plan for peace
The Israeli Radio reported that Solana held talks with Livni in Tel Aviv and told her that the Road Map Plan is still not dead, and that “despite the chaos in the Palestinian Authority Israel must implement the plan”.
Solana told Livni that he was concerned by a statement from an Israeli cabinet member who said that Israel has no plans to remove the illegal outposts in the West Bank.
On Wednesday, Solana held talks with member of Knesset Avigdor Lieberman, the incoming minister of what Israel calls “strategic threats”.
Lieberman is known for his extreme views regarding expelling the Palestinians and the Arab residents of Israel from the country. Lieberman also highly encourages settlement construction and expansion in the occupied territories.
Moreover, Solana said that he hopes that the Rafah Crossing, in the Gaza Strip, would be reopened on a regular basis soon. The Crossing has been closed for most of the past four months.
Officials of the European Union observers monitoring the Crossing between Gaza and Egypt, have repeatedly threatened to leave it as a result of the continuous Israeli closure of the Crossing for what Israel describes as “security reasons”.
Livni said that Israel is willing to negotiate with the EU on future terms, adding that Israel is “very positive about the role of EU observers there”.
